Business group: UK will lose £31bn waiting for new runway

Lauren Fedor is the chief reporter at City A.M., covering politics, banking and financial regulation.

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Lauren Fedor

The CBI has called for the government to move forward with aviation capacity expansion

A lack of airport capacity in London could cost the UK economy up to £31bn by 2030, according to a new report out today.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said that over the time it will take to build a new runway, the country could lose up to £31bn in trade because of a lack of flights to the so-called Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) alone. The CBI also claimed that if there were further delays to expanding runway capacity, the UK economy would lose an additional £5.3bn each year after 2030.

The Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, said last week that the government should approve the construction of a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.

“Delaying the decision to build a new runway will have a very real economic cost for our country,” CBI deputy director-general Katja Hall will say today, adding: “The commission has been clear in its recommendation to the government, and so are we: get on with building it without delay.”